Vestcor Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Vestcor Inc lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 59.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,199 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 29,467 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 33,349 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,432,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 16.4% in the third quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 3,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 143,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $23,400,000 after buying an additional 7,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 1,825 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $151.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,796,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,617,572. The stock has a market cap of $48.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The business's 50-day moving average is $156.47 and its 200-day moving average is $165.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.